Putter aligning device



Sept. 22, 1970 J. J. PALOTSEE PUTTER ALIGNINQ DEVICE Filed June 19, 1967 INNTOR. JOHN ,1. PALOTSEE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,529,830 PUTTER ALIGNING DEVICE John J. Palotsee, R0. Box 1225, Youngstown, Ohio 44501 Filed June 19, 1967, Ser. No. 647,032 Int. Cl. A63b 53/00 U.S. Cl. 273-163 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for assisting a golfer in correctly aligning a putter with a golf ball so as to drive the ball into the hole orcup. A long rod is mounted on a holder inserted into a hole in the head of the putter. The rod extends normal to the plane of the ball striking face of the putter and intersects the line from the golfers eye to the ball striking point of the putter face. The rod indicates when the putter is correctly positioned relative to the ball and correctly aligned relative to the desired path of travel of the ball. The rod may also be slid forward or rearward to indicate the distance to move the putter rearwardly to hit the ball a desired distance. The rod is attached to the club head by a holder having a prong of non symmetrical cross-sectional configuration to preclude attachment in any position except normal to the plane of the striking face.

This invention relates to a device for use in playing the game of golf and more particularly to a device for use with a golf putter to increase the accuracy of the golfer when putting.

When putting, driving the golf ball a short distance across the green to the hole or cup, it is important that the ball be hit in an accurate manner. The ball striking face of the putter must be normal to the line from the hole through the center of the golf ball. If the putter face is angled with respect to the desired line of travel, the ball will travel a path to the left or the right of the hole and it will be necessary to again hit the ball to drive it into the hole. As the number of strokes taken during the game determines the score and the lowest score is considered the best, such additional strokes are undesirable. Further, if the ball is not hit with the proper amount of force it will either stop short of the hole or travel over the hole and again necessitate an additional stroke.

Numerous devices have heretofore been proposed to assist the golfer in correctly aligning the putter with respect to the ball and the hole. These prior devices, however, are not widely used as they are unreliable in that they are not securely attached to the head of the putter and are thus easily knocked or jarred out of alignment, they are difiicult or impossible to remove from the putter, they are awkward to carry when not in use, and/ or they interfer with the normal use of the putter by adding excessive weight thereto.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a device which when used with a putter assists the golfer in readily and accurately hitting the ball so as to drive the same in the correct direction to cause the ball to drop into the hole, as desired. A further object of my invention is the provision of such a device which is readily ad- Patented Sept. 22, 1970 justable to the individual users preference without sacrific ing the accuracy of the device. It is also an object of the invention to provide a device which assists the golfer in determining the correct amount of force with which to hit the ball so as to drive it into the cup. Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the above character which may be readily attached to and removed from the putter head and which when attached to the putter is positioned in the desired alignment without the necessity of any further adjustments.

The above and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following specification wherein there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of my invention attached to the head of a putter and illustrating the method of using the device;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of my 7 invention;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line IVIV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line V--V of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the head of a golf putter adapted to receive the device of my invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a support for attaching the device of my invention to an existing golf putter;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the support of FIG. 7 ;.and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of my invention.

Referring fist to FIGS. 2-5, the preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described. An elongated pointed rod 10 having a plurality of circumferential grooves 13 is firmly but slideably received in a bore 14 passing horizontally through a holder 11. A second vertically extending bore 15 is provided in the holder 11 and this bore intersects the horizontal bore 14. Received within the vertical bore 15 is a small ball 16 which is biased downwardly by a spring 17 retained by a set screw 18. The lower end of bore 15 is such that a portion of the ball extends into the horizontal bore 14. When the rod 10 is inserted into the bore 14 the ball 16 engages one of the grooves 13 and tends to hold the rod in a fixed position. The holder 11 is pivotally connected to a base 12, the pivoting being about an axis parallel to the horizontal bore 14. A screw passes through a horizontal hole 20 in holder 11 and is threaded into the base 12. A compression spring 21 bearing on the head of the screw 19 and on a shoulder 22 at the inner end of the hole 20 forces the elements 11 and 12 into firm contact. The mating surfaces of holder 11 and base 12 may also be provided with an annular band of serrations 23 to further prevent any undesired movement of one part relative to the other. The lower portion of base 12 has a flat surfaced shoulder 24 and a downwardly extending prong 25 which is shown as being of triangular cross-section. The head 27 of the putter with which the device of my invention is used is provided with a vertically extending hole 28 of the same cross-section as the prong 25. A spring biased ball 29 extends into the rear of the hole 28 and engages in a dimple or depression 26 on the rear face of prong 25 when the prong is properly seated in the hole 28. It will be understood that when the prong 25 is properly inserted in the hole 28 the rod extends in a direction nomal to the plane of the striking face 30 of the putter. If it is desired not to have a hole extending through the putter head and for use with existing putters, a mounting plate 31 with a prong receiving hole 28 and retaining ball 29' may be attached to the rear face of the putter by means of screws, epoxy cement, etc.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in FIG. 9, the rod 10 is received in a hole in the upper portion of a base 12', a retaining ball like that shown in FIG. 4 being provided to retain the rod 10. A prong identical to prong 25 depends from the lower end of the base 12'.

Referring now to FIG. 1 wherein the device of my in vention is illustrated attached to a putter, the manner of using my invention will now be described. The circumstances in which a putter is used occur when a ball B is lying on a golf course green a distance from the hole or cup H of the green. The golfer attempts to hit the ball driving it into the hole, preferably in a single stroke. The golfer first inserts the prong 25 into the hole 28 in the upper surface of the putter head. As previously stated, the rod 10 extends in a direction normal to the ball striking face 30 of the putter and it will be apparent that this is achieved without the necessity of any adjusting or aligning procedures. The putter is now positioned adjacent the ball B, as shown in FIG. 1, and oriented so that the rod 10 is parallel to the line passing through the center of the ball B and the hole H as well as to the plane of the putting green. The putter is now aligned so as to drive the ball on a course directly to the hole.

It is obvious that the amount of force required to drive the ball into the hole is proportional to the distance between the ball and hole; the greater the separation, the greater the required force. The force imparted to the ball by the putter is proportional to the distance the putter is moved away from the ball and hole along the extended line of their centers prior to being swung forward to strike the ball. The device of my invention enables the golfer to readily achieve the correct force for a given distance and thus further improves his putting ability. As stated previously, the rod 10 is provided with a plurality of spaced circumferential grooves 13. With a little experimentation the golfer can readily determine the distance he must move the putter rearwardly to drive the ball a given distance. When the golfer has determined the distance the putter should be moved for a given separation of the ball and hole, he moves the rod 10 forwardly or rearwardly until the groove 13 which is the desired distance from the tip 32 of the rod 10 engages the retaining ball 16. Having aligned the putter in the manner outlined above, the golfer moves the putter rearwardly until the tip 32 is directly over the ball B. He now swings the putter forward, maintaining the rod 10 in the desired line of travel, strikes the ball, and drives it directly into the hole H. The aligning device may now be removed from the putter head and the rod 10 removed from the hole 14, permitting the device to be carried in the golfers pocket, handbag, etc.

It is advantageous and greater accuracy is achieved if the ball is struck by a specific point on the face 30 of the putter. The device of my invention also permits the golfer to ascertain when the ball is correctly located relative to this point. If the rod 10 is so positioned that its centerline intersects the line from the point to the golfers eye, the golfer merely positions the putter so that the ball is directly in line with the rod 10. With the device shown in FIG. 9 this desired position is achieved by properly locating the hole 28 in the putter head. In order to provide one device suitable to many golfers preferences, the device illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 enables the golfer to ad- 4 just the position of rod 10 by pivoting the holder 11 about the screw 19.

It should be apparent that the interengagement of the various parts of the device are such that while the parts may be moved for adjustments as above stated, they are normally held firmly in place and not liable to move out of adjustment accidentally. Further, the interengagement of the various parts is such that the rod 10 is always maintained in a position normal to the plane of the face 30 of the putter without alignment or adjustment by the user.

It should also be apparent that I have invented a device which is of simple construction and which aids the golfer in achieving putting accuracy. Even if the golfer does not wish to use the device during regular games, nevertheless he may use it when practicing to improve his ability, the rod 10 serving to indicate any defects in his technique. If, for example, the golfer tends to hit the ball so that it travels through the air, the rod 10 will not be parallel to the putting surface but will point upward, indicating that the face of the putter is tilted upward. Likewise, by observing the direction of the rod, the golfer can determine and correct many other defects in his technique.

It should be understood that numerous changes may be made in and to the device herein described. The prong 25 need not be of triangular cross-section but should be such as to assure that the rod 10 is directed normal to the plane of the face 30 without necessitating alignment by the user. Similarly, any means for releasably retaining the rod 10 in holder 11 and prong 25 in hole 28, as well as the pivotal connection of holder 11 and base 12, may be used. As these and other alterations and additions may be made in and to the disclosed embodiments of the invention without departing from the spirit of my invention, reference should be had to the appended claims in determining the true scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A device for assisting in the alignment of a golf putter relative to a golf ball and a hole into which said golf ball is to be driven, comprising: an elongated rod; a holder having a horizontally extending bore for receiving said rod, said holder being comprised of an upper member having said rod receiving bore, and a lower member, said upper and lower members being pivotally interconnected to permit movement of said upper member about an axis normal to the plane of the striking face of said putter and to prevent movement of said upper member relative to said lower member about any other axis; means carried by said holder for releasably retaining said rod in said bore; and a prong depending vertically from said lower member of said holder and adapted to be received in a vertically extending bore in the head of said putter, the cross-sectional configurations of said prong and the bore within said putter being such that said holder may be secured to said putter only in a position wherein said elongated rod extends normal to the plane of the striking face of said putter.

2. A device for assisting in the alignment of a golf putter relative to a golf ball and a hole to which said golf ball is to be driven, comprising: an elongated rod; a holder having a horizontally extending bore for receiving said rod; means carried by said holder for releasably retaining said rod in said bore; and means for securing said holder to the head of said putter, said means including a prong depending vertically from said holder, a mounting bracket having a hole extending vertically therein from the top surface thereof for receiving said prong, the cross-sectional configurations of said prong and said hole being such that said prong may be inserted in said hole in only one direction, means for releasably retaining said prong in said bracket, and means for securing said bracket to the face of said head portion of said putter opposite said ball striking face, the arrangement being such that when said holder is secured to said putter and said rod is carried by said holder, said rod extends in a direction normal to the plane of the ball striking face of the putter.

3. A device according to claim 2, said holder being comprised of an upper member having said rod receiving bore and a lower member having said prong, said upper and lower members being pivotally interconnected to permit movement of said upper member about an axis normal to the plane of the striking face of said putter and said lower member about any other axis.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Miller 273163 Schoefiier et al 273163 Billen 273163 Eisenberg.

Smith 273-163 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner P. E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner 

